"Scan of sector 32 is complete, Gary, but I am still unable to locate the rest of the crew."

"Chookity pok."

"Mooncake is right," said Fly. "You said that with the last 31 sectors we visited."

"H.U.E., how do I put this politely? You've been out of the AI game a while," said Gary as he sat in the captain's seat. "Do you think maybe it is possible that ..."

"Go ahead and say it, Gary. That I'm incompetent?"

A robot arm appeared under the chair and punched Gary in the face. "Ow! Oh, god!" He rubbed his chin as he asked, indignant, "H.U.E.! Did you just uppercut me with a monitor?"

"Oops. I guess I'm still getting my groove back."

Just then, the holographic map was replaced by video feed of Kevin. "Cheerio from old blighty, Constable Goodspeed. Ha! I'm making some progress here in London, but these JX10 trans-vector plasma coils are really..." There was a loud explosion in the background. "...well, 'snogging my bum,' as the Brits used to say."

"I'm pretty sure no one, not even the Brits said that," said Fly. "Bigger question, does it work?"

"Yep. I'm hoping in four to five days, tops."

"We'll be there," said Gary.

"Have you found the others yet?"

"Not yet."

There was another explosion on Kevin's end. "Oh! Uh, gotta run! Remember Gary, uh, 9 to 38 days, tops."

"'Scuse me? What? What?"

"Newton out! And Goodspeed? God speed." Keven signed off.

Fly leaned in to whisper in Gary's ear, "He clearly can't keep track of the time."

"Why are we whispering," he asked.

"I don't know. Felt like the right moment."

Invictus spoke as the Lord Commander led Avocato's team to a large meteor, where they watched the poor souls chained to the asteroids being drained by the devil, Invictus. "The souls of these prisoners strengthen me. But they are not enough. I need the key. I need Mooncake."

The Lord Commander chuckled. "Well, I wish we could've spent more time together, but since you all failed to tell me where Mooncake is, you can rot here like trash." Then he pointed to Ash. "Except her."

Everyone's eyes widened. Ash said nervously, "I thought you were talking about me. Are you?"

"Yes. You." The Lord Commander raised his hand and Avocato, Little Cato, Fox and Sheryl were flung into the rock shards and chained down.

"LET THEM GO!" Ash shouted.

"Soon, you'll join the voiceless chorus and bend to Invictus. You're going to love it." Enraged, Ash activated her aura and blasted it at the Lord Commander, but he blocked it with his own. "Oh, and just how did you think that was gonna go, girl? I am the Lord Commander."

"Come on, Ash, KILL HIM!" shouted Little Cato.

Ash put all her energy in her attack, and it seemed to overwhelm the evil dwarf tyrant. But with a hideous shriek, the Lord Commander repelled her attack and retaliated. "Intriguing!" Ash suddenly felt all her fingers break and she was slammed into a rock wall. She winced in pain as she looked at her damaged hands and as the Lord Commander laughed.

"Nothing in sector 33. There is no sign of Avocato or the rest of the crew, Gary."

"Tell us something we don't know, HUE," Fly snapped as she and Gary walked down a hall with Mooncake floating around them. "Hey, I'm gonna get cleaned up. See you later, Gary."

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Sure," he said, not really paying attention. "Lil bud," he asked, wrapping an arm around the little blob.

"Chookity?"

"Can I bounce a hypothesis at you?"

"Pok-pok."

"Okay, good, okay. You just got back, but maybe you've noticed, Quinn and I... have been a little distant, okay."

"Hmm."

"Separate rooms and..."

"Mm-hmm."

"...y-you get the idea..."

"Ohhhhhh, chookity pok," Mooncake said in realization.

"Maybe I'm just not... mysterious enough. I've read the manuals, okay. Like, a lady like Quinn needs intrigue. A mustache! Excitement!"

"Pok pok?"

"What?" Gary asked with a chuckle. "You think I excite?"

"Chookity-pok-pok!"

"Whoa. You think I excite and bring it?"

"Chookity." Mooncake agreed, flying around Gary.

"Oh, my. I asked for a slice, and you give me the whole dang pie!"

Mooncake cuddled up to his face and sang, "Pok pok pok pok pok, chookity pok."

"You have no idea how much I needed that. Gimme that muffin top, little buddy." The two fist bumped. "Pow! Yeah! There we go," Gary said as he marched down the hall with confidence.

"Chookity-pok!"

Meanwhile, Quinn stumbled into the medical bay, scrambling through the shelves for an injector. "Breathe. Just breathe," she said as she injected the painkillers into her arm.

"Excuse me, Quinn..."

"Not now, HUE."

"I know what's going on. My biodiagnostic scanners have detected the rapid progression of your Final Space poisoning. Allow me to show you."

"No, really! I'm good!" She was about to leave when the door slammed shut.

"Doctor's orders."

Quinn groaned in annoyance. HUE scanned her, then a holographic diagrams appeared before her. "Scan is complete. Projected life span... facticulating... 36 hours. I'm sorry, Quinn."

Quinn's heart sank. "36 hours?" She cried a little before saying, "H.U.E., no one finds out, especially Gary."

"But, Quinn, keeping secrets is not part of my protocol. Besides, you told Fly."

"Fly knew from the start. Or rather, she just had a lucky guess. And whatever happened to doctor-patient confidentiality?"

"Uh, I am not your doctor."

"You just said, 'doctor's orders.'"

"Ah! It appears you won this argument. Maybe ol' H.U.E. has lost a step."

"Then it stays between us. I need that. I need to make these last moments with my Gary count." Quinn sank to the floor and buried her face in her knees.

Meanwhile, Fly came out of the shower and got dressed. "What to do, what to do?" she sang. She then turned to look at the box. "Ugh, I cannot believe I'm doing this." She opened it, took Harp's body out and placed her in a chair. Then she took another chair, set it in front of her and sat in it. "Uh...hi, Harp. It's been a while since you've seen anything outside, huh? I just wanna say, welcome to the Galaxy 2!"

Harp stared ahead, not responding.

"Well, in case you didn't hear it, we're going to find your sister. She's with Avocato now, so she's safe. I hope."

Harp remained silent.

"Oh, your sister? Ash is fine. She's got freaky powers and a very short fuse, but she's a fine girl. And a tad creepy with that collection of organs. I swear I could smell formaldehyde coming from her room in the Crimson Light. But you'll like Fox. Oh, that's right! You have a brother! Adopted of course. Something about him makes me smile."

Harp said nothing. Fly groaned and face palmed. "I need a drink. Harp, do you want a drink?" She moved the motionless girl's lips up and down like a ventriloquist dummy.

"Girl, I'm underage."

"Heh, heh. I've started drinking when I was your age."

"And that helps how?"

"I don't know." Fly sighed. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?"

"Harp" asked, "What do you mean? I have been stuck in a box for a long time. The part about talking to me or wanting to settle down with Avocato?"

Fly's eyes widened. "Uh...you heard that?"

"Fly, that box has pretty thin walls. Any way, I think you should go for it."

The older woman looked down at her pocket and patted it. "You think I should?"

"When are you going to get another chance?"

"It's just that I got so much going on right now! Quinn is dying, we haven't found the rest of the crew and who knows if Kevin's Stargate ripoff is going to work? Hell, is there a chance we can even take Earth with us out of Final Space and back to our normal reality? Assuming everyone's not dead already." She paused then grabbed a napkin. "Hold on, you've got a bit of drool. There. All clean."

"Hey, you know what? All those things are the later stuff. Focus on the now stuff! Ask Avocato to marry you!"

Fly thought it over. "Alright. I'll try." There was a moment's silence. Then she asked, "Well, enough about me. What do you want to know?"

"Considering I've been stuck in a box, I'd like to know about Ash and her friends. Tell me more."

"Oh, well. There's Avocato's son, Little Cato, I think he's got a thing for her. Oh, and guess what? He's got two fathers and one mother now! Me, Gary and Avocato! Boy, the custody battle is going to be confusing."

Little Cato struggled against the chains as he said to his father, "We gotta help her!"

"These chains are impossible to get out of."

"Yeah, see ya later, fellas," said Sheryl as she easily broke out of her bonds.

"Sheryl! Get us out of here!"

Gary's mother shrugged her shoulders and said, "No time, hon, not even for a pash and dash. Would you believe it?"

"There is time. Ample time. Please! No, no! Ugh. And there she goes."

"I admire her independence," said Fox. "But... she just bailed on us, right?"

"Thanks for rejoining the party," Little Cato said harshly at him.

"But she's comin' back, right?"

"Uh, what's the answer that you're looking for?"

Planet: Unknown

As they sat around a campfire, Tribore got into a tiff with his son. "Quatronostro!"

"Meh," grunted Quatronostro as he sharpened a spear with his back facing his father. Teenagers, am I right?

"Do not 'meh' me. I will not be 'meh'd'! I uncorked my baby hole for you, mister. I will not be ignored."

"Meh."

Tribore stood up. "Whoever said parenthood was a roll in the hay doesn't know what hay is. We need to bond. Would a fatherly swaddle do the trick? It would. Did I know that all along? I did."

He handed Quatronostro his scarf, but to his shock, the boy kicked it out of his hands. "Swaddle! No sere envuelto!"

"Oh, well. Then it's on!" Tribore took out a whip and used it to snap the spear in two. In response, Quatronostro tackled him and pinned him to the ground.

"Quizás eres mi padre pero yo soy tu superior!"

"I don't know what the hell that means, but it sounds very continental." He grabbed Quatronostro by the shoulders and they tumbled into a cave. "Oh, heavens! You are strong, my child. As we tumble on the ground mightily, man to man." Suddenly, they stopped when they heard...people? They looked and saw, at the base of the cave, a huge network of buildings carved into the rocks. It was hard to believe it, but there was a civilization thriving in Final Space.

"An undiscovered new civilization? They'd better have shopping."

"Si. Mm-hmm."

Father and son smiled at each other. "Remember, don't buy from the first seller, and never pay full price." Quatronostro nodded.

Meanwhile, Sheryl hopped across the meteors, ignoring all the wailing cries of torture as Invictus devoured the prisoners' life force. Suddenly, she slipped off, forcing her to grab one poor soul's chains. "Help me, please!" Sheryl ignored his pleas and snatched the communicator off his belt and leaped off him just as as Invictus tendrils ensnared him.

She landed on the asteroid below him and pulled out the communicator. She pressed its button, but it didn't turn on. She growled in frustration and slapped it. "Come on, ya little... work!" It blinked on. "Ah, yes! Gary, we're in trouble. Come ASAP."

Fly finished telling a joke to Harp, "And the man says, 'But you fuck one goat...'" Fly manipulated Harp's lips again.

"You stink."

"And I just got out of the shower! Ha, ha! BURN!"

"No. That's not a burn. That was just the circumcision of comedy."

"Oh, I'd like to hear you tell a better joke! Philistine. You know what, screw it. I'm going back to the bridge to check up on Gary." Fly carried Harp and placed her back in the box.

"You can't treat me like I'm some kind of toy!"

"I just did," Fly said harshly as she slammed the lid and strapped the box on her back. Then she sighed. "I really am insane."

Down in the medical bay, Quinn stared at the medical diagnosis, counting down her remaining hours. "Oh. Only 33 hours." Then she thought about what Fly said, about telling Gary the truth. But...she couldn't. She didn't want her spend remaining hours having Gary worry about her.

Gary sat in the captain's chair, head resting in his hand, looking bored. "Sector 34. Empty, Gary. Still no sign of the crew," said HUE. What a shocker. At that moment, Quinn walked in and Gary stumbled out of his seat.

"Hey! Uh... you look nice."

Quinn kissed his cheek. "Thanks."

"Oh, my god. You smell nice! Why do you smell so nice? Why do you ... I mean, uh, so extra nicer than the normally natural nice? I mean, ah!" Gary babbled nervously. "Pits! There's ... there's ... I ... I'm sensing some pits of lavender." Quinn giggled. "Did I save it? I saved it, right?"

"Saved it? You never lost it," she said as she held his hands.

HUE said, "Love truly is blind."

"I don't know what the hell is going on, but it's nice," Gary said, embracing Quinn.

At that moment, Fly entered. "Hey, Gary! Do you want to hear the one about the..." She stopped when she saw him and Quinn hugging. "Uh...I'll go."

"No, no," Quinn insisted. "We...we could use the company."

"Oh, so it's ended like that," said Gary, a tad disappointed.

"Incoming transmission, Gary," said HUE.

"Play it."

At that moment, Biskit came in, carrying HUE's old junk bot body on a dolly. "One moment, Gary. Biskit, what exactly are you doing with my pristine temple?"

"That's my business," Biskit snapped at the AI.

"That was my golden chariot."

"Play. The dang. Message," Gary said to HUE, feeling irritated.

Biskit gave Gary an annoyed and impatient look as he walked up to him. "Gary, can I be honest with you? You're just letting your robot arm go to waste." He pulled a laser saw from his belt. "Mind if I just cut it off and attach it to my H.U.E. project?"

"If Gary's cool with it. Gary, are you cool with it?"

Fly kicked the saw out of Biskit's hand. "Nobody's cool with it, HUE! We don't dismember a Team Squad member's arms, Biskitty!"

"Wait, wait, back up," said Gary. "What do you mean, my arm is going to waste?" He let out a gasp. "Can it do things?"

"What CAN it do," asked Fly. "It's just an arm from a SAMES robot that Mooncake and Avocato attached to you."

"Just an arm?" snapped Biskit. "It's NOT 'just an arm', Elizabeth!"

"Don't call me that."

"Ugh," groaned Quinn. "HUE, will you please play the message?!"

"Two seconds," said Gary before turning to Biskit. "I want to hear more about my sweet robot arm."

But Biskit folded his arms and turned away. "If you haven't figured it out by now, there's no hope."

"No hope? What ... what is ... what is that suppos... You know what? Just ... H.U.E., play the dang message."

Sheryl's voice rang through the speakers. "Gary, we're in trouble. Come ASAP."

"That's it?" asked Gary, nervous. "Anymore to that?"

Biskit shook his head. "That's disappointing."

"Whatever. Lock onto her location, H.U.E. Lightfold."

Meanwhile, Ash tried to activate her powers, but the pain from her broken fingers prevented her from concentrating. She looked up at the Lord Commander who hissed at her, "You're so much more than you know. I could make you whole. All your fear, weakness ... gone. Become my...protegzege."

Wait. Was that how he pronounced it? Little Cato laughed. "It's pronounced protégé, ya dink!"

"That's what I said. Protegzege."

"Nah, ya dingus. It's pronounced protégé, like matinee."

Fox laughed then asked, offended, "Wait! Are we roasting a speech impediment?"

"No, I think he's just mispronouncing protégé," Little Cato assured him.

"Does it make a difference," asked Avocato.

"Totally! In one version I'm the dick. In the other ..."

Fox finished Little Cato's sentence, "You're the cool rebel dude, taking down the man!"

"Exactly."

The Lord Commander let out an annoyed sound before he refocused his attention to the girl. "Ash, your powers are beyond these fools' comprehension. I can show you the way up, the way to true power." It was then that Invictus' essence began to circle around them.

"I never wanted them," Ash said, her voice shaking.

"They were a gift!"

"A gift? I couldn't save my sister from being sacrificed. I killed my parents."

"And yet, against all odds, here you stand, alive. Aren't you even a little curious why?"

"I don't want to know why!

"Because deep down you already know, don't you? You're still here because you're one of us."

Wait, did that mean Ash's powers came from...

"We accept her, one of us! We accept her, one of us," chanted a familiar voice. "Gooble, gobble! Gooble, gobble!" Everyone turned to see Cetus sitting on one of the asteroids.

"Leave it to a market in Final Space to sell a crocheted sweater," Tribroe complained to the owner of a clothes stand. "Is this peach? Because it better not be fuchsia."

"We are in great danger, Outlander," said the owner. He had pale skin, pointy ears and solid black eyes. "Our enemies draw closer with each passing moment. Our people live in fear. Help us, please!"

And how did Tribore respond? "Shut the hell up. You don't know what danger is until you've read my customer satisfaction survey. Now, how much is the frock?"

Suddenly, there was a commotion. Tribore and Quatronostro turned to see an army of praying mantis-like aliens harassing some of the people. The stand owner exclaimed in fear, "They approach!"

Tribore looked the alien mantises up and down. "Ew. Bug thugs. To be fair, if I looked like that, I would be mad, too. I mean, what kind of Frankenstein nonsense is this? Be something, or be nothing."

Quatronostro took out a new spear, lit it on fire and flung it at the mantises, impaling all five of them. But this didn't calm the stand owner down. "But those were just the scouts. Their army won't rest until they destroy us all. Please, stay!"

"Fine. You win," said Tribore hotly. "What do you win? World's worst shopkeep." He threw the scarf in the stand owner's face. "That's what you win."

Meanwhile the Team Squad watched as Invictus resumed draining the life force of the other prisoners. "I think we're next," said Fox grimly.

"Dad," asked Little Cato. "When Invictus took you over, did it hurt?"

"Yeah," Avocato said. "But not as much as hurting you."

Invictus realized Sheryl was gone. She growled at the Lord Commander, "You missed one."

But the Lord Commander focused all his anger on Cetus.

"Gary, your mother's signal emanated from this quadrant of the asteroid field."

"Alright, set her down," said Gary as the ship landed on a chunk of planet. He and Mooncake exited the ship and looked around. "Mom? Where the hell are you?"

Gary jumped down from a cliff and landed in front of him. "Gary!"

The two ran up to each other and...they didn't know what to do.

"Oh ..."

"Oh, I ... oh."

"Okay, I'm just ... Ah!"

"Ah. Well, I mean, we're new to this, Gary."

"Sorry, I ... Ah, whoops."

"Didn't mean to ..."

"For cripes sake," shouted Fly. "Just hug each other already! You're mother and son!"

Gary and Sheryl looked at each other, then embraced each other. "Does this still feel awkward?" asked Gary.

"Yes, it does," said Sheryl, letting go. "Baby steps."

"Yeah, it's a Gary thing!" said KVN.

"Uh, you know...we could just stop," said Sheryl, walking into the ship.

"Ah, thank you," Gary said, relieved.

When they were all inside the ship with Quinn, Sheryl delivered the horrible news. "Gary, listen, the Lord Commander has returned. And he has the others."

Gary let out a shocked, "What?!"

Fly's eyes widened and she clenched her fist. "I knew that midget would come back. Just didn't know how."

"This time, we kill him," said Quinn.

Mooncake snuggled up to Gary's face and whimpered. "Don't worry, Mooncake. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

"You just tell H.U.E. what you need, Gary."

"Guns. Lots of guns," he said to the AI.

"Not lots of guns," said Fly. "ALL the guns!" Rows upon rows of guns popped out of the walls and floors, all for the taking. "Wow, Nightfall sure took all the precautions needed when she built this ship with Kevin," she said with a whistle.

Gary was a bit overwhelmed. "Uh, HUE? Was all this necessary?"

"You want guns? I give you guns."

While Fly grabbed a huge bazooka, Gary talked to Quinn. "By the way, Quinn, I'm not just in the excitement distribution business."

Quinn gave him a weird look. "I don't even know what that means."

"It means I bring it," said Gary, giving her the "handsome face".

She chuckled. "Then maybe we should do it already, Goodspeed."

"It's about to be brought, Ergon."

Fly shuddered. "Remind me not to be like them when Avocato and I tie the knot."

"The warning horns," the stand owner shouted as horns blared and people ran around, screaming. "The Slyban army draws near!" Tribore and Quatronostro paid no attention and instead focused on the frock. "Save us, please! Please!"

"What is this," Tribore asked. "A burlap sack of horror? One star."

The stand owner fell to his knees and begged, "Outlander, we're all going to die!"

"Do I want to help? Yes, I do. Will I? That depends on how fast you can say the magic word. Would you say, you want us to help you... resist them?"

"Mm, I'd say more like, uh, fight back."

The mantis-like Slybans began slaughtering the people.

"Are you absolutely married to that phrasing?" Tribore grabbed the stand owner by the collar and got in his face. "For instance, could the help you require be characterized as a resistance?"

The stand owner said, starting to feel anxious as the Slybans came closer, "Could we maybe discuss the wording later?"

Tribore let him go and said, "Honestly, no."

Finally the stand owner shouted, "SURE! WHATEVER! WE'LL CALL IT YOUR THING! JUST HELP US!"

"Just say the word, hon."

"Will you PLEASE, lead the RES..."

Tribore put a finger on his lips. "Shh! Tribore already knows. Quatro, to arms!"

It all happened so fast. Tribore blasted the Slybans with his guns while Quatronostro sliced them with his spear. In just two minutes, the two of them were standing on a pile of dismembered Slyban parts. "And now Quatronostro and I will take our leave... and that frock." He took the frock off the stand owner. "And this helmet." He put on a Slyban helmet, but Quatronostro shook his head. "Oh, heavens. Never mind. The helmet remains with your people."

"Take us with you. Wherever you go, we will follow."

"That's a very big responsibility. How the hell am I supposed to ... Yes, I'll do it! Tribore, and to a much lesser extent Quatro, will lead you out of Final Space. Now, cheer for me. Cheer!"

Ash shook her head as Cetus gently lowered herself down to her and the Lord Commander's level. "I am not one of you!"

"Oh, but you are," said Cetus. "Did you ever wonder why your parents offered you and your sister to be sacrificed to that overgrown boa constrictor?"

"You," growled the Lord Commander. "How dare you show your face -"

"Ah, bub," Cetus put a hand on his lips. "This is my moment now."

"D-Did you just give me the hand?!"

"What are you talking about," demanded Ash as her aura started to appear.

"You were chosen," Cetus let out a growl. "To be the host of the fragment of Invictus' power." She chuckled. "I chose the wrong Graven girl to be the final Dimensional Key. I took your sister when it should have been YOU!" Ash's aura began to glow brighter. "No matter." She suddenly got blasted in the face by the Lord Commander's power.

"You dare show your face to me," he snarled as he grabbed her with a telekinetic grip and slammed her down into the ground. "After you BETRAYED ME?! I WHO SAVED YOU FROM THE MUNDANE LIFE OF AN ORDINARY PLEBEIAN?! AFTER ALL I'VE DONE, YOU DEFY ME?! WHY?!"

Cetus slowly rose up, then suddenly, she grabbed the Lord Commander by the throat with a steel tentacle, strangled him then slammed him into a stalagmite. "You were about to take away my vengeance when you were going to kill Fly," she growled, as he pulled himself out, straining his teeth against the pain. "But that doesn't matter anymore. You think too small, wanting to become a Titan. That's why I thought to myself, why worship a god..." She glanced up at Invictus. "...when you can actually become one?" She turned to Ash. "And you will help me with that goal, Ash. You who are Invictus' child."

"NO!" screamed Ash as she backed away from her. But Cetus grabbed her by the throat.

"Perhaps I don't need all the Titans to consume Invictus. I just need YOU." She opened her mouth and Ash screamed as her head was slowly inserted in.

"NO!" screamed Fox as he struggled to get out his bonds.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" screamed Little Cato.

Suddenly, the sound of a ship's engine made Cetus stop and look up. "What's this," she asked.

Everyone looked up to see the Galaxy 2 in the sky. The Lord Commander growled with hate, "THE GARY!"

"H.U.E., take him out!" shouted Gary.

"On it, Gary."

"YOUR TAQUITOS ARE HERE, JACK," Gary shouted as the Galaxy 2 fired its missiles at the Lord Commander, who blocked them all with a force field.

Mooncake was about to fly out with Gary, Quinn and Fly, but Gary stopped him. "No, Mooncake, you stay."

"Huh? Pok! Pok! Pok!"

"I'm sorry, but that's an order." Mooncake nodded. With that, Gary jumped out with Quinn and Fly and they fired their lasers at the Lord Commander. "Eat lasers, jerk-face!" The Lord Commander blocked the lasers with a force field then used his powers to telekinetically destroy Quinn's gun and sever Gary's cable. "Oh, my craaaaaappppp," Gary screamed as he fell until he landed on his face.

"Never thought I'd see you again. But you just keep showing up, the Gary."

"IT'S JUST GARY!" Before Gary could shoot his gun at his enemy, the gun exploded and he felt his throat tighten as the Lord Commander caught him in a telekinetic stranglehold.

Meanwhile, Fly pointed her bazooka at Cetus, who was still holding the struggling Ash. "Cetus, whatever beef you have with me, it has nothing to do with her!"

"Oh, I don't think so," Cetus snarled. "It has EVERYTHING to do with her! She was supposed to be the final Key! Not her sister! But I'm glad I made that mistake, because I can become the only god with her power!"

Fly fired her bazooka, forcing Cetus to let go and sending her crashing into a rock. "Yeah, I don't know what you're talking about and frankly, I don't care. Just shut up and let me rescue my friends."

Meanwhile, Mooncake saw Gary getting choked to death and was about to fire his laser when HUE stopped him. "No, Mooncake, Gary is too close."

The Lord Commander roared, "Dieeeee! Do it!" as he tightened his telekinetic grip on Gary's throat.

Suddenly, Biskit called out, "Your robot arm, Gary! Use it!"

Gary turned his attention to his arm and pointed it at the Lord Commander. He tried to think of the arm turning into...well, something! A gun, a sword, a toothpick, SOMETHING! "Come on! Come on! Turn into something!"

"Diiiiieeeee!"

"It's not working! It's just a hand." Suddenly, Gary's robot arm turned into a gun before everyone's very eyes.

"What!? Ah!" The Lord commander let out a scream as it blasted him in the head.

"Oh, my siiiiick!" Gary cheered. "Did you see that?! Yes! This is tight! I can do things! Look!"

Fly blinked twice before saying, "Whoa. Didn't see that coming."

Biskit smirked. "I so told him. You were there when I said it, right," he asked KVN and Mooncake. "You were there."

Then Gary's robot arm turned into a serrated laser blade. He yelped with excitement, "Oh! It's a sword! Oh, how did I not know this?"

"Goodspeed," Quinn called out to him. "You brought it."

Fly's excitement for Gary's newfound ability then turned into horror and frustration as she watched the Lord Commander's head wound slowly regenerate. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me! What will it take for you to die permanently?!"

Ash flew up to Fox, Avocato and Little Cato and tried to break Fox's chains just as Invictus' energy was drawing close to them. "Hang on, Fox!"

Little Cato looked at the older Ventrexian. "Goodbye, Dad."

"Always short of tomorrow," he replied.

"Ash, get out of here!" shouted Fox.

"I'm not leaving you!" Ash tried to activate her powers, but she couldn't due to her broken fingers.

"There is no escape."

"ASH, GO!" shouted Fox.

"I'm gonna get you out of here!"

"Bring them up, KVN," Gary shouted as he, Fly and Quinn headed for their captured friends.

"You calling me in, coach?"

"I'm not your coach, KVN. Pull them up!"

"But you have to call me in."

"Okay, you're in."

"Yay! KVN is in!" the robot cheered as he flew down to help his friends. Quinn freed Little Cato while Gary freed Avocato.

"Whoo! You right on time, baby!"

Gary turned to the Lord Commander, his head wound almost completely healed and glaring up at the human. "Peace out, dickweed," he said to the alien tyrant and flew off with his friends.

However, Fly and Ash was struggling to free Fox. "What are these fucking chains made of, vibranium?!"

"Leve me," shouted Fox. "Take Ash and go!"

"It's gonna be okay," cried Ash.

"GO! AUGH!" Ash and Fly jumped back as a metal tentacle pierced through his heart. The tentacle retracted back into Cetus' hand as she stood over them.

"First Harp, then this Tryvuulian," she said with a hideous smile. "People you love tend to get hurt around you, don't they, Ashy?"

Ash's eyes started leaking angry tears then she activated her aura. "AUUUURGHHH! CETUS!"

"Wait. Look." She gestured to Fox, who started spazzing out of control. Then suddenly, he broke free of the chains and let out a roar as his arms clamped down to his sides and new, bladed arms made from the flesh and bone of his shoulders burst out. Then the lower half of his face melted of, revealing the jaw, which had become tusks at this point. But the scariest part were the eyes, which glowed a dark purple hue.

Ash backed away. "No... Not again!"

Fly growled as she pointed the bazooka at him. "This is just like what happened to those dead Garys."

"No!" Ash pushed the gun away just as Fly fired. "Don't kill my brother!"

"Ash, that thing is not - AUGH!" The thing that was once Fox lunged at her, pinned her to the ground and sank its teeth into her left shoulder. "YAUUGH! GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF ME!"

"FOX, STOP!" Ash cried. "PLEASE!" The thing looked at her, let go of Fly and roared as it charged toward her. "PLEASE! I know you're in there!" Fox raised the sickle-like blades... "AUUUGHHH!" Ash let out a cry of rage and despair as she blasted Fox into the air and he crashed into a meteor.

Ash fell to her knees and began panting heavily. Fly grabbed her by the shoulders and flew up toward the Galaxy 2 with the others.

But the Lord Commander wasn't finished with them. "Oh, I have much more in store for you than death." He grabbed them all with an energy beam and was prepared to pull them all apart when...

"Chookity poooooookkkk!"

The little green blob fired his laser at the Lord Commander, who let out a scream. "Mooncake! Aggggghhhh!"

Now freed, the crew flew back into the Galaxy 2. Gary shouted to his mother, who was piloting the ship, "LIGHTFOLD!"

Down on the ground, the Lord Commander glared as he watched them go. Then the voice of Invictus spoke, "You let the key escape. I never should have trusted you with this."

The Lord Commander snarled, "BRING ME MY SHIP!"

"You had better hurry. She's already ahead of you."

"CETUS..."

Fly plopped down onto the bed. "I need a fucking drink." Suddenly, the door opened and Ash stepped in with a blank look on her face. Her eyes were stained with tears. "Ash...I'm sorry about Fox. Really, I am."

"Where is she?" Ash's aura started to glow. "Where is Harp?"

Fly took the box off her back, opened it and took Harp out before placing her body on the bed. "Just so you know, nothing changed. She's still..."

"Leave us."

"Uh..sure you want that? Because I..."

"GO!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" Fly screamed as she ran out.

Ash held Harp's body close as her aura grew. "You...took my sister and brother," she growled. "I swear, I will take your heart the way you took mine!"

At that moment, HUE sent out an alert. "Incoming. It's Cetus. And the Lord Commander is tailing behind her."